I'm based in Italy, but Farnell have an Italian site, so I think I can order from there. Thanks for finding that solenoid, it is not push, but the push ones seem even more expensive than the pull ones.

Thanks for finding that solenoid, it is not push, but the push ones seem even more expensive than the pull ones.

It's rated for continuous duty so you could leave it pulled in all the time (1.5 Watts each) and drop the power when you want to plunger to come out. They each draw 1/8th Amp at 12 Volts so you just have to size your power supply to match. You'll need something like a logic-level MOSFET to do the power switching.

If I do the mechanics right "pulling" will hit the chime anyway. So I'd apply power, the plunger comes "in" and a lever attached to the plunger hits the chime. Or I suppose I could have the plunger resting on the chime cylinder, then a quick in-out-in motion would strike the chime.

I think I'll find out by experience which is best.

See my other post about how to power the solenoid. Is a MOSFET better for this than a "normal" transistor?

By the way, how do I "quote" you in posts. I can see a zillion icons, but none which say "quote post you are replying to."

i dont know if i reply this tread too late but while i was surfing the arduino blogg i found this http://arduino.cc/blog/2010/12/03/make-your-own-solenoids-and-play-xylophone/i think this is similar to your application wont it?